From Harvard Business Review - by Marcie Schorr Hirsch and Therese
S. Kinal
This summer's Olympics got us thinking: how do we as managers and
leaders become coaches who elicit greatness in others? A study of the
coach-athlete relationships that yield successful performance, released by the
Canadian Olympic Committee in 2010, has some findings worth adapting to the
coaching of corporate performers. Authored by Penny Werthner, an Olympic
athlete herself, the reports reveals that, to produce Olympic champions,
coaches must deliver in five critical areas:
- help the athlete cultivate self-awareness
- build a strong coach-athlete
relationship
- create an optimal training
environment
- provide financial and other
support systems
- manage the Olympic environment
Of these key contributions, #2 was cited as "the most crucial
factor in winning an Olympic Medal or producing a personal best
performance."
In the corporate milieu, we can leverage these findings to
encourage strong showings among our employees. Our experience suggests that as
a manager/coach, you can help your employees live up to their promise by
adapting the five Olympic coaching principles in the following ways:
Build your employee's development plan on her natural talents and
interests. Truly get to know the employee you are charged with developing, from
her temperament to her motivators. Work with each individual to encourage
honest self-assessment of her strengths and areas of challenge. Resist the urge
to create development targets based solely on the needs of your organization.
Rather, be creative and think of how you can get the best out of your employee
while still fulfilling corporate needs. Stars are built on strengths, not on
remediation of weaknesses. What really excites and interests your employee? How
does she like to be rewarded? How does she like to challenged? How can you help
her become a star?
Create a relationship of trust and respect. This is the foundation
of all of the work you will do together; without it, both of you are on shaky
ground. Demonstrate the willingness to listen and an open mind to hearing
whatever is shared. Create a pattern of honest, two-way communication. Don't be
afraid to show weaknesses and be who you are. Authenticity is key to building
trust and respect. And remember: good coaches win by creating winners. Be
willing to "share" your coaching role with others as needed: leverage
your vantage point as coach by pulling in additional individuals who have
expertise you may lack but your employee needs.
Audit your employee's world at work. Is he connected to key
players who can help him? Does he know what their motivators are and how he can
influence them? Does his role encourage visibility that can propel his career?
Are there individuals in the organization who are less than helpful in
advancing his agenda? What changes in his work content, setting or other
variables would integrate her development goals into her daily work life? Play
an active role in helping to create a context that primes the pump for your
corporate athlete to succeed.
Remove obstacles to success. Is there time in her schedule to
devote to pursuing her development? Are there financial resources to underwrite
her efforts (and is she aware of them?) What other obstacles might preclude her
successfully executing on the plan that you and she have co-created? Your job
as coach is to clear the decks so that your employee can focus on working
on—not getting access to—the development she needs; it is also a vote of
confidence if you articulate your willingness to ensure that she has the
requisite resources.
Provide the perspective on the organization that your employee
can't possibly see from her position. It's a simple organizational truth: some
things can only be seen from sufficient height. An important element of
coaching is one ring out from simply communicating good information: helping
your employee to see the organization in new, more sophisticated ways is a key
component of "value added" coaching activity. Your knowledge of key
players and organizational history and politics is truly valuable. But your
ability to help your employee learn to make sense of your organization in new
ways or to reframe her understanding of his situation in the company so that he
sees new alternatives and strategies—that is invaluable. In fact, that's true
development.
Earlier this year, we had the pleasure of listening to a panel
discussion on lessons shared between business and sport at London Business
School. One of the panelists, Ralph Kruegar (Associate Coach, Edmonton Oilers),
mentioned two particularly inspirational lessons we took home. First, he noted
that winners are born in difficult times. Second, that sports coaches are
really tough on their athletes, but they never stop believing in them. In our
experience, this is just as valuable in organizational settings, but sadly not
always practiced. How often do we give our employees enough freedom and trust
to battle through tough challenges without our meddling? How many of us walk in
to the office and excude a genuine belief in the success of our employees ...
and that we are committed to helping them get there? There have been numerous
articles written about how difficult it is to manage the new generation of
employees and managers (Millenials/Gen Y), but at the heart of it, is it not
this authetic belief and dedication to the betterment of not only the company
but also the individual and society that's challenging traditional management
thinking and practice?
One final lesson from the study of coaching winning Olympians
relates not only to what the coach does, but how she does it. And, in a
wonderful turnabout, this behavior will encourage coaches themselves to stretch
and develop. Good coaches don't shoot from the hip. They are thoughtful and
deliberate about their style in a given situation. To do this, they must
capitalize on their understanding of the employee they are coaching, and
communicate with them in the way that will be most effective at conveying their
message. One scenario may benefit from a directive approach, another from
self-revealing sharing. Or inspiration may be what's required. Ultimately, the
coach needs to make this call, and to do so effectively, she must be able to
get outside herself and view the situation through the eyes of the person she's
coaching. In this area, great corporate coaches and great Olympic coaches must
be similar: they must truly know and understand the individuals they seek to
coach.
